Pakistan cricket team's former skipper Rashid Latif slammed Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) as he shared his opinion on Pakistan squad for Afghanistan series sans star players. Once the ongoing Pakistan Super League (PSL 2023) gets over, the national team is slated to go up against Afghanistan in a three-match T20 International series, starting from March 25 in Sharjah. Shaheen Shah Afridi, Mohammad Rizwan and Babar Azam are some of the top players who haven't been named in Pak squad vs Afghanistan.
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The selectors' move to rest some of the big names for Afghanistan T20Is after PSL 2023 has been criticized by Pakistan fans and cricket experts. Ex-Pak skipper Rashid Latif blasted PCB for 'destroying the national side' by resting star players at a time when they have started to win awards, make gains in ICC rankings.
"Our players are featuring in ICC rankings and winning awards after a long time. Babar and Shaheen won ICC awards. They [PCB] couldn’t digest it. They said we won’t let it happen and now we are here and will take decisions. Those who never took rest and are 70 or 80 years old and need to rest, are now deciding the fate of Pakistan cricket. You can say rest in peace Pakistan team. Our team is now resting in peace," Latif was quoted as saying by Cricket Pakistan.
Latif pointed out that bringing in new players breaks team combination and that if the new players perform well, media will put pressure on senior players when they are back, calling it the first step towards destroying the national team.
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"When you bring new players, you break a team combination. Some new players, who are selected, will perform in the Afghanistan series, so will they bring back the senior players back with lesser strike rate. Media will also put pressure on them. This is the first step towards destroying Pakistan team," he further said.